The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for inserting threads and similar items into a winding device including at least two traversing devices arranged axially adjacently and associated bobbin tubes placed on a bobbin chuck.
In its more particular aspects the method of inserting threads and the like is of the type comprising the steps of taking up each thread, coming from a first thread guides arranged above the winding device, by a thread suction device, subsequently placing the threads onto a second thread guide arranged above the traversing device and onto individual lower thread guides arranged below the thread traversing device and guiding the same outside a thread traversing zone, displacing the threads by means of the lower second thread guides from an initial position at the outer end of the bobbin chuck to a position in front of the bobbin tubes in such a manner that each thread is brought into a zone in front of a catching means of the corresponding bobbin tube and subsequently by simultaneous take-over all threads are simultaneously brought into the catching means, whereupon they are wound up onto the bobbin tubes.
In its more particular aspects the apparatus for inserting threads and the like is of the type comprising catching means associated with each bobbin tube and a winding device including a first thread guide edge arranged above a thread traversing device. There is further provided for each thread a related second thread guide which is displaceable from a starting position at an outer end of the bobbin chuck along the bobbin tubes and pivotable towards the bobbin tubes. Each second thread guide is connected to a support element. The support elements are interconnected by carrier rods provided with stops. Drive means act on the support element which is arranged at a bearing side of the bobbin chuck. The side-by-side and the double-tiered arrangement of winding devices, on the one hand, and the multiple thread winding, on the other hand, as well as the requirement, that all threads are transferred simultaneously and without danger, in order to achieve uniform bobbin package weights, implies a replacement of the manual transfer of each individual thread.
In a method and in an apparatus as known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,834 granted Jan. 30, 1979, the threads supplied by a supply device are taken over using a manual thread suction device, and subsequently are guided on a thread guide rod at the face side in front of the winding device, using guide notches, jointly as a bundle, but mutually separated. Subsequently the threads, simultaneously moved through the insertion gap of the winding device, are brought using thread eyelets, which are movable along the supporting axis of the bobbin tubes, and which take over the threads, to a mutual distance, which corresponds to the one of the bobbin tubes arranged in a row, in front of the bobbin tubes.
Subsequently a pivoting beam supporting the thread eyelets is pivoted towards, or under, respectively, the bobbin tubes, for effecting the simultaneous insertion of the threads into the catching slots of the bobbin tubes.
Simultaneously with the movement of the thread eyelets the threads are lifted off the guide notches of the thread guide rod, in such a manner that they move freely along the thread guide rod, being eased into their position corresponding to the thread tension.
The movement of the thread eyelets is effected by movable discs, which support the thread eyelets, and which are supported on a rotatable threaded spindle. One of the discs is provided with an inside thread and is moved as a nut (called nut-disc in the following) by the rotating threaded spindle. The other discs are slidably arranged on the spindle and are mutually connected by carrier rods.
The disadvantages of the apparatus cited are seen in that the possible inaccuracies of the disc positions, and the thread positions respectively, in front of the corresponding catching slot are to be compensated for by an additional movement parallel to the axis of the bobbin chuck, in order to ensure, that each thread actually is caught by the catching slot. The possible inaccuracies are caused on one hand by the inexact positioning of the nut-disc by the slow-down run-out of the motor-driven spindle, and on the other hand by the possibility, that the friction between the carrier rod and the disc may exceed the friction between the spindle and the disc.
Due to these conditions also the disadvantageous step of the method is required of moving the threads further in axial direction beyond the positions of the catching slots and moving them back jointly, for ensuring that the threads are caught by the catching slots.
A further disadvantage of the method cited is seen in that the threads first are guided at the end face side in front of the winding device as a bundle (on the guide rod), and only are inserted mutually separated in front of the bobbin tubes (using threadings, spindles and discs) and released.